Orcs on a Pirate Ship
by Marethiel
Summary: Legolas and Tauriel are on an adventure to the south of Mirkwood. However, things indeed turn south as they run into a pirate ship full of orcs. I own nothing! This is a story I'm working on rewriting, so Chapter 1 will be changed, and Chapter 2 should be coming along as well. :)
1. Chapter 1

A Victory on the River Anduin

A blonde haired elf, slight in figure with a bow strapped to his back, pushed his boat back into the river Anduin, the Falls of Rauros roaring behind him, as if frustrated that someone had managed to safely get a boat past them. The elf shrugged his shoulders as he held a line to keep the boat from drifting; he'd simply carried the boat through the woods past the falls. No easy feat, but neither a foolhardy one, as the woods were relatively safe in these times. It was only a decade after the fall of Erebor, and despite an initial heated debate between Thranduil and himself, Legolas had finally managed to convince his father to let him venture to the south of Mirkwood to see who and what lay beyond their borders. Behind him, carrying sacks of their provisions, walked Tauriel, a shorter redheaded elf. She stepped into the boat, set the bags into the bow, and picked up an oar.

"No need, mellon," said Legolas as he stepped into the boat, "There is wind enough for the sail." Tauriel smiled and shrugged, setting down the oar again and helping her friend rig the mast and sail. Soon they were sailing down the river, the wind blowing their hair in their faces as they watched the land go by. They had seen these lands before, plenty of times, but elves live for thousands of years, and if they do not pay attention and explore the world more than once, the world could change around them without their notice—a bad thing if the change is for the worse.

The elves traveled down the river for many days, passing through the Dead Marshes and encountering very little trouble. They made it all the way south past Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, to Pelargir. Here the water started to flow swifter, as the sea lay not far beyond. Tauriel consulted a map as gray clouds began to darken the bright afternoon.

"We might turn back now, Legolas. The current will soon get too strong for us to row back." she said.

"I was thinking of a bigger adventure," said Legolas, adjusting the sail to pick up more wind. Tauriel glanced up at him as the boat picked up even more speed. "We can stay close to the coast, north of the island of Tolfolas, and travel up Gwathlo River, then march home from there."

"And risk the Corsairs of Umbar?" asked Tauriel skeptically. She folded up the map and tucked it in her pocket.

"The pirates have not bothered us so far, and we are nearing the end of their hunting grounds." said Legolas. He spoke with the authority of a prince, yet Tauriel could see in his eyes that he was hoping for her agreement. She smiled; truth be told she nearly never turned down an adventure, despite the risks involved.

"Then south we shall go." she said. But even as the agreement was made and the spirit of adventure burned brightly in the elves, a dark ship with a menacing appearance suddenly slipped out of an inlet and came sailing at full speed towards the elves. Tauriel's eyes widened and she yelled, "Get us to the shore!" There was no way their little boat could outrun the pirate ship. Legolas looked behind him, then hauled on the rudder as Tauriel quickly rearranged the sails.

"Out of their hunting grounds, you say?" she asked in a teasing voice. Despite the current danger, the elves were confident they could escape easily.

"A bit of an oversight, I suppose." sad Legolas, watching the ship come quickly towards them. An arrow suddenly stuck into the mast, just barely brushing Tauriel's shoulder. Another one hit the deck by Legolas' foot. Both elves were standing now, aiming their bows at the archers on the deck of the pirate ship.

"I bet I'll hit one before you." said Tauriel. Raindrops began to sprinkle ever so slightly as the sky was completely covered in dark clouds.

"Mind you, we simply want to take them out of the fight, not kill them. We must scare them off, show them how tough elves really are." said Legolas with a grin. Tauriel laughed as she nodded her agreement.

Then something clicked in their minds at the same time: Orc arrows had hit their boat.

Orcs were on the pirate ship.

All traces of fun vanished as the elves tried to steer the boat and shoot the orcs at the same time, Legolas pushing the rudder with his foot and Tauriel resetting the sail between firing at the orcs. They were about fifty yards from the shore, but still, the ship was suddenly a few feet from the elvish boat, with black arrows flying everywhere. One struck Tauriel's hand, and she cried out, more in surprise than pain, as she dropped her bow. She swiftly knelt to pick it up, and in that moment the disjointed growls and shouting of orcs turned to one raucous and victorious cry. Tauriel looked up to see something that, on an ordinary day, would make her laugh, but at the moment sent her face to paling and her heart to freezing.

A hook, attached to a rope, which was attached to a pole that stuck out over the water and above the elves' heads, had been dangling free. If the setup was used for fishing, it had caught its finest catch: the hook had tangled in Legolas' quiver and the elf was flying through the air, still firing arrows as if this were just another means of fighting. Tauriel screamed his name as he was pulled by the orcs towards the ship. The little elvish boat was now being outrun by the pirate ship, and Tauriel frantically tried to get the little boat to follow faster, but was impeded by needing to shoot at the orc archers that were still firing at her. The rain fell faster, soaking through her hair and dripping onto her shoulders as she hurried to help her friend.

Legolas had felt the hook jerk him into the air, but did not let that impede his judgment. If he cut the rope while he was flying through the air, he'd just land in the water and be an easy target for the orcs. As he swung towards the ship, he threw two daggers into the side. He then reached up with a third dagger, cut the rope, and dropped onto the two daggers he'd stuck into the side of the ship, balancing about a foot from the water. The orcs noticed this, and ran to where he was, ready to fire their arrows down the side of the ship. Legolas looked behind him, but his boat was too far away for him to jump to, despite Tauriel's frantic sailing. So, he drew a fourth dagger, stuck it and his third dagger up into the side of the ship above his head, and climbed up the side of the boat, leaving his knives stuck into the side of the ship for him to stand on as he hauled himself up with his fifth and sixth daggers.

Jumping the few feet up off of the last two knives and over the railing onto the deck of the ship, Legolas gave the orcs a great surprise. The elf was already firing arrows and running when they charged again, growling and snarling and wielding oddly-shaped swords and other weapons they had found on the ship. Soon they were too close for arrows, and Legolas resorted to knocking them over with his bow. He caught a glimpse of the elvish boat, and it was being left behind as the wind and current carried the pirate ship down the river. Legolas frantically pushed his way through the crowd of orcs, receiving cuts and smacks despite his skill as a warrior. Nevertheless, there were over a hundred orcs on board, and they seemed to guess what Legolas had in mind.

The elvish boat's sail was straining now, the current was carrying the boat quickly towards the ship, and Tauriel stood with bow at the ready, waiting for Legolas to appear on the stern. She could hear the sounds of a battle, orcs crying out as they were killed by the elf warrior, but she could see nothing. She stood on the seat, hoping she'd be able to see a little better, and suddenly a blonde head popped up over the stern. Legolas hauled himself up over the edge, and started to run towards the railing.

He made it only a step before clammy hands grabbed his ankles and caused him to land hard on his stomach on the stern, half dangling ten feet over the main deck. In the distance he heard Tauriel yelling his name, and elvish arrows struck the orcs that were using the stairs to climb up to the stern. Legolas was pulled all the way off the stern and was forced to fight them off again for several minutes.

Finally, the orcs were forced back far enough for Legolas to jump straight up, catch the edge of the stern deck, and pull himself up. He ran to the railing, with the orcs climbing up to the deck behind him; he had only a few seconds before he'd be swarmed by them again. But Legolas stopped, his heart sinking. The ship was larger than the elvish boat, and an undercurrent deeper than the Tauriel's boat had carried the ship too far away for Legolas to jump over and swim without being shot by the orcs. In fact, arrows hit the deck near Legolas' feet, as the orcs tried to take him out as they shoved each other on their way up to the deck. The elf could see Tauriel firing arrows at the orcs already on the deck, but her arrows only hit the edge of the ship. Legolas' and Tauriel's eyes met, hers filled with fear and despair, his filled with a resignation to his fate and forgiveness for her. She'd done her best.

Tauriel could only stare at Legolas as he turned away from her, knowing he would not go down without a fight. She growled in frustration through her teeth as she looked for ways to make the boat go faster. Despite the fact that the ship would easily outrun her, she would not abandon her friend.

Legolas stared down the orcs with an icy blaze in his blue eyes as he drew his short sword. He let out an elvish battle cry that was almost a scream, his voice rasping as it tore his emotions out of him and sent all the fear, sadness, and anger at his situation into the air. He was an elvish warrior, and he would not face death with anything but courage. He charged the orcs before they could fire their arrows, forcing them into hand to hand combat. Orc after orc was taken down with the small silver blade, the rain pouring down like a river flowing from the sky. Legolas' bow and quiver had been cut from his shoulder by an orc sword he had barely missed as he jumped off the stern onto the main deck. Still, he was hardly a match for the orcs, who quickly replaced their dead warriors, giving Legolas no time to catch his breath. The fight seemed to last forever, with the elf dodging blows that would kill him, but not entirely escaping injury. Still, there seemed to be less orcs than when Legolas had first jumped onto the boat. Legolas knew better than to hope at this point—he'd received several smacks on the head that would have knocked a human unconscious, and he was probably a bit delusional.

The elf was moving slowly back towards the front of the boat as he fought, his vision going slightly dark and his footing getting shakier by the minute as he was unable to dodge the orc's blows as well has he had been able to earlier. This only made him an easier target. Yet, to his surprise, Legolas saw only five live orcs surrounding him. Delusion or not, some of the last bit of Legolas' energy surged as he killed four of the orcs. Blood mixed with the rain on the deck, and the elf slipped, dropping to his knees and bracing himself with one hand on the deck, the other clutching his sword as he gasped for air, grimacing with eyes half closed. His energy boost had been used up quickly. With the deck swimming before him as his injuries caught up to him, Legolas considered calling it quits, despite hearing the last orc step closer behind him. But this moment was, too, short lived. As the orc raised its sword to finish Legolas, the elf, with all the grace and energy that elves have when they first start a battle, quickly got to his feet, turned, and blocked the blow. With a final burst of energy, accompanied by a desperate shout, Legolas ran his sword through the orc. The orc tumbled backwards, and Legolas collapsed, his breath whooshing out of him as he landed on his stomach dangerously close to the hole in the deck leading to the hold. The elf could not move, no matter how hard he tried; Legolas was paralyzed with exhaustion. Blood, sweat and rain ran down his face, burning his eyes. With one hand still holding his only weapon, his cheek against the boards of the deck, Legolas finally relaxed, realizing he'd killed all the orcs. His eyes closed as he smiled slightly.

An elvish sword clattered into the hold after slipping from its unconscious owners' fingers, the ship sailing quickly down the river to the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey guys! This story is a rough draft to "Starlight," which I just posted. So "Orcs on a Pirate Ship" won't be updated anymore. Thanks!**_


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